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Summary List of stories Phase I Day: Honor, Duty, And Family << chapter 11 Chapter 12 of 75 Betrayal, Blackmail, Retaliation chapter 13 >> << previous scene Scene 1 of 2 next scene >> Location Participants Time Summary Prologue | Phase I | Phase II | Epilogue 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 Text It had already been fifty hours since Corvette had given them their deadline, and Luna and Scrivener hadn't found a single trace of Sublime Style, despite how hard they had already started looking. It was made more difficult by the fact that while the villagers sympathized to one point or another, even Autumn Orange had said quietly: "No matter how important it is, nopony's going to want to help turn that poor girl over to Corvette. I'm sorry, but... you're on your own." Corvette refused to help them as well: if anything, his thugs made things harder for them, since they seemed to think that now they could get away with messing with Luna and Scrivener however they pleased. Luna eventually remedied this by breaking two of an earth pony's legs when he had tried to shove them around in front of the other goons. It had alleviated some of her frustration, but did nothing to help them with the problem of finding Style. As Scrivener and Luna returned to their campsite after another useless trek through the village and surrounding area, the stallion glanced over at the winged unicorn and muttered: "I'm honestly beginning to wonder whether or not this unicorn even exists. Apparently she's very pretty, which is not much to go on. You'd think Corvette would at least give us a description..." "No, I think he simply desires to see us flounder." Luna muttered, shaking her head grimly. "He likely wants us to fail just so he can have the pleasure of smashing the anchor after making us dance like puppets for so long. 'Tis disgusting, really." Scrivy sighed a little, nodding moodily in response before he and Luna both frowned a bit, halting as they both looked towards the ramshackle barn. Leafy Greene was running hurriedly in and out of the doors in a circle, a lantern swinging from her jaws before she suddenly threw it in a hard twist over her shoulder, and Scrivener and Luna both winced as it landed inside the barn. Leafy vanished after it... and then a few minutes later, she began to repeat this process with the lantern until she suddenly stumbled to a halt as her eyes stared towards them. They looked back, and then Leafy dropped the unlit, cracked lantern and bolted into the barn, and Luna and Scrivener traded a look before the winged unicorn started forwards, grumbling dourly: "Enough is enough. Come, Scrivener, time to get answers." Scrivener sighed a little, but he nodded after a moment and followed her, feeling distinctly unsettled himself and wondering if Leafy had snapped as the mare's voice yelled out of the barn, sounding terrified: "D-Don't you come in here, Pa and my brothers are right out in the field!" "Pa and thy brothers are..." Luna halted when Scrivener gave her an imploring look, and she sighed before saying drolly: "Are gone to market, as I recall." For a few moments, there was silence from inside the barn, followed by whimpering... and then Luna muttered under her breath and stormed into the open door, looking grouchily back and forth over the sawdust-speckled interior. The stalls were decaying, and there were a few old musty piles of hay and broken, discarded boxes here and there that had likely once been used for gathering materials... and then Scrivener and Luna traded looks as there was another whimper before they both looked towards a sturdy ladder against the far wall. "G-Go away! Pa won't like you being in here!" "Leafy, what art thou hiding in this accursed barn?" Luna asked in a frustrated voice, and there was another whimper... before Scrivener's ears pricked, and Luna frowned at him. Their gazes locked, and there was silence for a few moments before the winged unicorn looked up as there was that whimpering again, overlaying a second sound... Scrivener and Luna both started towards the ladder, looking hesitantly up: it led up into an enclosed loft of some kind, and Luna grimaced before she gestured to the earth pony that she would go first. The male nodded after a moment, and Luna hesitantly grasped the lower rungs. There was tense silence through the air... and then the winged unicorn braced herself before starting quickly up the ladder. She stuck her head carefully out through the hole... then cursed and ducked when a rusted pitchfork flew at her, banging loudly off the wall next to her to clatter loudly to the floor as Leafy shouted miserably: "It weren't Pa's fault!" "Damnation, Leafy Greene!" Luna snapped, and then she shoved her head back up through the hole, glaring furiously... but it turned to a shocked look as she stared at the body of a unicorn laying in a pile of hay, Leafy pacing frantically back and forth behind this. The unicorn was pallid and pale, her flank covered in dried blood, laying very, very still... but then Luna's eyes caught the minute twitch of her body, and the winged unicorn hauled herself quickly up into the loft as she whispered: "What has thou done..." "It wasn't me! It was Pa!" Leafy Greene shouted back, then she grabbed at her face, whimpering loudly and stumbling backwards as she babbled: "Pa caught her sneaking around in the crops so he got her, shot her, and I found her, I found her there, laying in the crops. He thought she was a bandit! It wasn't his fault! So we dragged her up here, and... and oh no, no, no, nopony was supposed to know, I was going to burn the barn down, but you showed up, and I thought things would be okay but... no no no, I couldn't burn the barn down while you were here..." "Sublime Style..." Luna whispered, stepping forwards... and Leafy Greene stumbled backwards, hyperventilating, panicking, as Luna gritted her teeth and looked over the unicorn: ratty mane, dying features, and yet she was still pretty... meaning that before Corvette had started chasing her, she must have been gorgeous. And the ugly, infected wound on her flank... the hook-trap. The poor creature must have dragged herself around Watershed and collapsed in the field... "Leafy Greene, wait, wait, I don't think your Pa did this." Scrivener's voice soothed gently, as he pulled himself up into the loft, and Greene looked blankly up as the stallion stepped forwards, choosing his next words carefully as Luna looked thankfully towards the earth pony. "Sure, maybe he shot at her... but did he see her get hit? This wasn't your... your Pa's... fault." "I..." Leafy Greene looked down weakly at the unicorn, whispering: "But she's dead. She's dead, and gone, and... and..." "No, no she's not, she's just very, very weak." Scrivener said soothingly, taking another careful step towards her as Greene stared back and forth, trembling violently and panting for air, looking like a caged and cornered animal. "Listen, Leafy, listen... do you hear her breathing? Do you see her moving? She's not dead. Everything's going to be okay... but she needs medical attention. We can do that." Leafy Greene shivered as she looked back and forth between the ponies, and then she whispered: "I should ask Pa." "Then... then go to the house, Leafy, and wait for Pa. We'll... do what we can here." Scrivener replied quietly, and Leafy looked at them nervously before he smiled a little, saying encouragingly: "It's going to be okay." For a few moments, the earth pony mare only stared at them... and then she nodded slowly and carefully stepped over the unicorn's body, staring back and forth between them before heading quietly for the ladder. She slipped carefully down, and Scrivener and Luna both sighed in relief as they traded looks and small smiles before Luna muttered: "'Tis a damned good thing thou has a fine talent for coercing the insane, Scrivy." "Shut up, Luna." Scrivener replied dryly, and then he shook his head before turning his eyes quietly towards Sublime Style, asking finally: "Can we heal her?" "I... I do not know." Luna grimaced as she stepped forwards, looking silently over the unicorn before shaking her head as she glanced back and forth. The loft was empty, except for a few piled-up bundles here and there... long-ago harvested plants, stored up here but left mostly to rot, which many of them clearly had. "There is not even anything here we can use. Go and fetch our medical kit, I shall try and heal the mare as best I can in the meantime." Scrivener nodded quickly, heading to the ladder and hurriedly clambering down before he started towards the barn door... and then an object flew through and struck him firmly in the face, knocking him backwards with a curse of surprise, grabbing at an eye as he looked down stupidly at the cracked lantern laying in front of him. Fire flickered quietly in the glass center of it, and oil leaked like blood through the sawdust over the ground as flame greedily spread along the liquid before the earth pony looked up in shock to see Leafy Greene whimpering in the doorway. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Pa and my siblings said I don't got a choice!" Then she yanked the door closed, and Scrivener cursed under his breath before he looked down at the lantern, wincing and suffocating the weak flames hurriedly with the soil floor. Then his eyes roved upwards as he heard a pounding on the outside of the barn before Scrivener barreled towards the door, clenching his eyes shut as he threw himself into a shoulder tackle. The wood was weaker and more rotten than he'd thought: and instead of simply knocking it ajar, he crashed through the wood and smashed directly into Leafy Greene, knocking her flying backwards with a squeal of shock, a hammer and a pouch of nails flying from her grip before she crashed and rolled violently backwards as Scrivener landed with a wheeze on his stomach, then shouted: "Are you insane?" "Pa said I had to!" Leafy babbled in return, shivering in terror as she scampered up to her hooves, and Scrivener reflected ironically on how this answered his question before he growled and stomped both front hooves forwards. It was a childish gesture, but it was more than enough to send Leafy screaming and running towards the house, crying loudly: "Pa! Pa! Let me back in! I couldn't do it!" Scrivener only shook his head moodily, glancing over his shoulder at the house before he grimaced a little in disgust as he looked over his shoulder. There were stacks of dried branches and rags here and there, reeking of lantern oil, and a box of matches... and the male grimaced as he glanced up, feeling Luna's concern twist through his mind before he muttered: "It's okay, I scared her off. But I think I'm going to have a little talk with her 'Pa' if this keeps up." Luna grumbled in his mind in agreement, and then he felt her attention shift back to healing the unicorn as the earth pony hurried towards their encampment. It was thankfully unmolested, and he let himself into the open tent, digging through the things they had unloaded from the wagon before sighing in relief as he found a white saddle bag, flipping it open and checking the contents as he muttered: "Bandages, salves... and potions, here we go." He threw this over one shoulder, then left the tent... and stared in shock as he saw smoke wafting up from the barn, his eyes widening before he shouted: "Luna, someone just set the barn on fire, get out of there!" The earth pony charged forwards, sprinting around the smoldering side of the barn to the front, which was already blocked off by a wall of flames. He cursed,looking over his shoulder towards the house... but then his eyes widened as he caught sight of a figure in the upper window, mouth working as he realized Leafy Greene was leaning out, looking terrified out of her mind as tears leaked down her features, and Scrivener couldn't help but wonder stupidly: Is her Pa really alive after all? Then he winced and shook his head, turning his eyes back towards the flames... but a moment later, an upper section of the barn wall exploded, and Luna leapt out with Sublime Style on her back, cursing as she carried the smaller unicorn safely down to the ground with a grimace of disgust, trading a sharp, quick look with Scrivener. Scrivener nodded as Sublime dropped to the ground, giving a weak moan as Luna turned her eyes towards the barn and flicked her horn, the bright flames burning higher for a moment before they burst suddenly upwards in a single combustive gust, smoke and embers filling the air as the flames vanished. Luna sighed in relief and relaxed after a moment as she leaned forwards, then glanced over her shoulder towards where Scrivener was already tending to Sublime Style's wounds as best he could. She was silent, watching the earth pony work as he disinfected the ugly, large gouge in her leg, potions already out beside him as he culled information from both Luna's mind and what he'd been taught by Zecora and Celestia about field medicine, and then the male smiled a little as he glanced up and murmured: "It'd go even faster if you helped though, Luna." "Perhaps, Scrivener Blooms, but... thou art doing a fine job on thine own. I have already healed the damages I could with my magic and restored some of her strength..." Luna hesitated, then she shook her head slowly and murmured: "Her will to live is strong. It gives me hope... but look at the poor unicorn. We... we must get her inside." She paused, eyes becoming moody. "And we must pummel Leafy Greene. We must pummel her until she is sane." "She didn't set the barn on fire, though. She couldn't have." Scrivener said quietly, pointing at the open window... and Luna looked up in surprise to see that the earth pony mare was still staring out of the house at them, her hooves pressed up against the glass. And with her damaged mind, it was impossible to know just what Leafy Greene was seeing... why even now, she looked so upset, as she stared past them at the smoldering barn. "But let's take Style inside. I don't think Leafy will be much of a problem." Luna nodded slowly, frowning all the same as she glanced worriedly up at the still-staring earth pony mare in the window, and then she shook her head slowly as Scrivener finished applying a salve over the disinfected, cleaned-out wound, grimacing a little as he quickly wrapped a cloth bandage over her leg. "We still have some time at least to figure out how to get around this whole mess with Corvette." The winged unicorn grunted in quiet agreement, nodding slowly before she helped lift Sublime Style onto Scrivener's back, and the ponies started towards the house as Luna flicked her horn to pick up the medical bag. As it floated beside her, she glanced quickly through it, double-checking their supplies as she muttered: "We should have come with more supplies. Well, next time, Scrivener Blooms, we shall know better." The stallion nodded after a moment before he glanced up as they reached the back door to the house, and Luna stepped forwards to shove this open and step into the kitchen... then wince when Leafy Greene half-fell, half-charged down the stairs visible through the archway at the other side of the room, shouting hurriedly: "No, no, no, Pa, Pa doesn't want-" Luna flicked her horn moodily as Leafy began to run through the archway, and a pan hanging from a hook glowed before swinging upwards and into the path of the earth pony mare, Leafy Greene crashing face-first into this with enough force to dent the metal before she flopped stupidly on her back. Scrivener winced a bit at this, looking over at Luna pointedly, but she only grumbled as she let the pan swing back down, saying moodily: "I have had enough crazy for one day, Scrivener Blooms." Leafy Greene twitched weakly on the floor, looking dazed as Scrivener carefully carried Sublime Sage through the kitchen and down the corridor beyond, looking back and forth before he found a cozy sitting room. The couch looked large enough to accommodate the unicorn, so he gently laid her down, propping her head up with the stiff pillows as the unicorn stirred and moaned weakly, and Luna gently touched his shoulder, saying softly: "She will need water." Scrivener nodded, turning and heading back out... and he grimaced a little as he found Leafy Greene already back on her hooves, rubbing slowly at her face and looking miserably at Scrivener as she whispered: "Don't you get it? I have to listen to Pa. Pa, and my brothers. They're the only family I have." "What about Autumn Orange?" Scrivener asked quietly, as he walked past Leafy Greene... and then he frowned a bit when she only gave him a strange look. "What?" "Autumn Orange isn't my family. She was a cook at the next farm over, until everything in Watershed started... going bad. I didn't even know she still lived around here." Leafy Greene replied quietly, shaking her head with a faint smile. "Funny. Pa never liked her much before, but he sure started to like her after... after they was gone for so long. He even said he got a few recipes from her, to always trust her." Scrivener looked silently at Greene, feeling a strange churning in his gut before he headed into the kitchen as Leafy followed him, then she winced a little as he began to open cupboards. "No! Hey, Pa goes through a lot of trouble to get me just the right groceries!" Scrivener forced a smile, however, closing one of the doors and saying quietly: "I just need a glass. For water, for that poor unicorn in there. That's fine, right?" "I... I guess. But she shouldn't be in here... are... are you sure she's not dead?" Leafy asked impulsively as Scrivener pulled a glass down from one of the shelves. The stallion nodded to her without looking, and Leafy grimaced a bit before she shook her head as he turned towards the fridge. "No, I thought you were just getting water." "Just want to get some ice for her." Scrivener said gently, pulling the fridge door open as his eyes roved downwards, noting roots, mushrooms, strangely-colored flowers...things that sent off the instincts he had picked up from Luna. He only recognized the mushrooms, mostly because the same had grown wild all across North Neigh... and had often been mixed into the food of the earth pony servants to help keep them docile. "So Pa... gets your groceries?" "He leaves them on the front step. He's always very busy." Greene said quietly, nodding with a smile as Scrivener slowly closed the fridge, and he looked silently towards the unicorn as he realized why she was so lost, how she could be so gently-mad: because somepony had been helping it along. Giving her natural drugs, fueling her insanity, helping keep her locked in a state of delusion and hallucination. And while he had no proof, only suspicion and hunch... it felt like it was beginning to add up who that could be. "Pa takes care of me. And even more important than that, he makes sure I can take care of myself." "I... I see." Scrivener whispered, and Leafy rubbed at her face, then frowned and looked curiously down at the blood on her hoof as if she'd forgotten already why it was there. The charcoal stallion felt a twist run through his body, and then he glanced towards the fridge before turning to the glass on the counter, stepping quickly over to fill it with water from the tap as he said quietly: "Tell you what, Leafy Greene. Since you've done so much for us and there's some nice, fresh vegetables waiting to be used from the garden, Luna and I can make you dinner tonight. As our way of saying thank you." Leafy Greene brightened at this, and then she frowned just as quickly as her mood had raised, saying worriedly: "But... but what about Pa and my brothers?" "I'll make enough to go around for everypony." Scrivener said quietly, looking towards her with a faint smile and feeling his heart twisting in his chest, the faintest tremble running through him even as Leafy brightened again. "Then it's settled." Leafy nodded warmly, and then Scrivener turned and silently made his way past her and back towards the sitting room. He entered, and then glanced down with a faint smile as the glass glowed and lifted free from his grip, floating silently over to Luna... and the now-awake unicorn, who was staring silently up at the ceiling, conscious but not yet aware of what was going on around her as she trembled a little. Scrivener walked quietly across the room to sit silently beside the winged unicorn, watching as she gently slipped Style a sip of water before Luna looked slowly towards Scrivener. Their eyes met, trading thoughts, images, memories... and then the winged unicorn grimaced slowly and nodded, murmuring quietly: "Do not worry, Scrivener. We shall shortly get to the bottom of this." Then Luna glanced towards Leafy Greene as the earth pony lingered nervously in the doorway, before the winged unicorn sighed and invited gently: "Come. See for thyself... she is not dead. Simply... weak and tired." Leafy hesitated, but then nodded slowly as she strode into the room, looking silently down at the unicorn. Luna had cleaned her up a little, applied a few more bandages over the blue-maned, gorgeous female... and for a few moments, Leafy only stared down at her before she closed her eyes and whispered in relief: "Oh I'm so glad..." She smiled after a moment, looking slowly up, drawing her eyes over the unicorn... and then she gazed quietly towards Scrivener, saying softly: "Pa will be real glad to hear about this, I bet." Scrivener only nodded silently, and then he reached out and gently touched Leafy's shoulder, the earth pony mare looking almost surprised at the contact before the stallion asked quietly: "Do you remember what happened outside? The barn?" "Pa told me to burn down the barn. Like a funeral." Leafy Greene said abruptly, and then she looked down and whispered: "I couldn't though. I couldn't, you saw I couldn't. So Pa went out to do it himself, but there were you and... her... and her... all inside there, alive, not dead. Pa was scared though, you can't blame him..." The charcoal earth pony looked silently at Leafy Greene... but before he could think of how to phrase the questions he wanted to ask, there was a loud hammering at the door, and Greene visibly froze up before Scrivener grimaced as he traded a sharp look with Luna. "Leafy, stay here with the unicorn, don't... don't make a sound. We'll see who it is." Leafy Greene nodded nervously, trembling a little as Luna and Scrivener both turned to head towards the doorway, stepping through... and then snarling as the door at the end of the hall was booted hard open by a burly minotaur, both of the ponies setting themselves before Luna's eyes narrowed dangerously as the bull ducked to the side and let Corvette stride through, grinning at them coldly. "I take it you two have something for me?" "Not yet. We have forty hours or so left to find her, after all." Scrivener replied icily, but the bounty hunter only gave a cold smile before he flicked his head... and an emotionless, cold-faced Autumn Orange stepped in through the doorway, making both Luna and Scrivener narrow their eyes. "You should never trust a stranger. First rule out here." Autumn said quietly, and then she glanced at Corvette, asking coldly: "So where's my money?" "First I want to make sure it's the right unicorn. Second, I'm reconsidering paying you at all after you tried to cook my bounty alive. She's worth a lot less dead." Corvette retorted irritably, and Autumn gave him a cool look before he added darkly: "Also because if you had done right in the first place we wouldn't be in this mess." "Look, Corvette. I got her to trust me before you showed up in this town. I've been feeding false leads to the other bounty hunters, and I even sent pretty little Style running right up into your trapped caves, ain't my fault your trap didn't work right. And hell, we still would have caught her anyway, looks like her pretty little hooves were carrying her right to my farmstead when she collapsed and crazy Lee-Lee found her." Autumn Orange retorted. "Just give me my goddamn money so I can split out of Watershed." "You'll get your ten percent when everypony else gets paid, so sit down and shut up." Corvette retorted, and Autumn gave a grumble as Luna and Scrivener both scowled at the Pegasus mare. The bounty hunter glanced up, then smiled coldly at this after a moment, gesturing towards her and saying moodily: "She's good, ain't she? But desperation makes ponies do funny things." "I gotta get out of here. You have no idea what life is like out here, always forced to cling to the biggest, roughest piece of garbage you can find just to make sure you don't get raped or mugged." Autumn snapped, then she put on a pout as she feigned a whimpering voice: "Unless you're a pretty harmless little mare who no pony would want to hurt. Or, even better, you got money... and since Leafy Greene was stupid enough to hand over the deed to the farmstead, I'm gonna make me a pretty penny when I leave with the nice hefty sum Corvette's going to pay me and the money I'll make from selling off the best farmland near Watershed." Corvette shook his head, then he started forwards before narrowing his eyes when Luna and Scrivener both blocked his route, the bounty hunter setting himself and saying quietly: "We have a deal. And don't think I didn't take precautions... I don't get back to town in the next thirty minutes, they're going to smash that pretty rock of yours apart. So you'd best get out of my way and not cause me any delay,s do you hear me, filly? Then, once I'm satisfied I've got Sublime Style safe and trussed up, and move her to a secure location... you can come get your pretty stone and leave town. Everypony goes home happy." Luna shivered in fury, and Scrivener clenched his eyes shut... then Corvette shoved past them, followed by Autumn Orange and the minotaur. There was a miserable yell from the sitting room, as Scrivener and Luna could only stand silently to either side of the hall as the minotaur came out a moment later, carrying Style easily over one shoulder before Autumn and Corvette followed... and last came Leafy, babbling weakly: "No, Pa and... Pa and my brothers will be along-" "You dumb as dirt crowbait, they're dead!" Autumn snapped over her shoulder, and then she and Corvette halted in front of the door as Leafy staggered to a halt between Scrivener and Luna, trembling, her eyes going wide as Autumn sneered at her. "That's right. They're never coming back, and you're all alone. Pa, well..." Autumn cleared her throat, then said in a lower, masculine baritone: "Autumn, don't you think it's funny for the last year Pa only ever talked to you through doors and windows? Guess the apple don't fall so far from the tree after all." Corvette snorted, and Luna snarled as her eyes flashed, her mane sizzling with electricity as Scrivener looked icily towards the two Pegasi, but Autumn only grinned as tears began to fall from Leafy's eyes and her trembles worsened. "Retard. I've had years to learn how to play you and every other person in this godforsaken little town. Making it sound like I was just so sorry for you, but you got what you deserved. Your precious Pa always thought he was such a great pony, helping out with those stupid contraptions to catch the Coatl, everypony loved him... well, the dragon must have loved him too because they never found more than one of his legs left in the desert, and that was chewed clean." "Shut up! They're not dead!" Leafy Greene screamed, covering her ears and shaking her head violently, a sob ripping from her jaws as she fell backwards. "I... Pa! Pa! Help! P-P-Pa!" "Pa's never coming home, Lee-Lee." Autumn replied mockingly, and then she shook her head and turned, storming out the door as she muttered: "Let's get out of here, Corvette." "Wait twenty hours. Then you can come get your toy." Corvette said coldly over the broken sobbing of Leafy, and Scrivener and Luna both snarled at him, barely able to contain their fury before the bounty hunter turned and stormed through the door. "P-Pa..." Leafy whispered through her tears as she fell forwards... and Luna clenched her eyes shut as Scrivener stared icily out the open door, both swearing they would make Autumn Orange and Corvette pay for what they had done. Category:Transcript Category:Story